An education in AV technology: the annual EduComm conference covered podcasting, distance learning, and classroom planning

University Business, August, 2006 by Jean Marie Angelo, Tim Goral, Ann McClure

Orlando, Florida, may be best known for its Magic Kingdom and Island of Adventure, but for three days in June it played host to another "theme park" in the form of the 2006 EduComm conference. The theme, of course, was connecting education with audiovisual and information technology. Colocated with InfoComm 2006, the world's largest AV communications and presentation technologies trade show, EduComm brought together expert educators and industry leaders to share the newest classroom technologies. More than 60 sessions offered attendees a wide variety of topics from which to choose--everything from podcasting and distance learning strategies to opensource applications and virtual microscopy.

"I'll be returning to my school with a new sense of enthusiasm for changes that I can make," noted Ed Hall, a PC support technician from Seward County Community College (Kan.).

First-time EduComm attendee Randy Malta, manager of telelearning services at St. Louis Community College (Mo.), enthused, "Best conference I've ever attended--and I've attended a lot. Almost every session was excellent!"

Cheryl Livengood, chair of the associate degree nursing department at Weatherford College (Texas), said she found "some 'outside of my box' ideas that I can use with our current system, and an introduction to a couple of new products that I want to use."

Nearly a thousand attendees took away valuable knowledge and practical advice from the sessions, while peer networking opportunities brought together educators and IT professionals from across the country and from as far away as Lebanon and New Zealand.

"It's great to see how our peers solve the same problems we have," said Philip Patton, Library and Instructional Technologies administrator at Cochise College (Ariz.).

This year, the EduComm Pavilion featured "Tomorrow's Classroom Today," an extensive display of products, services, and technologies that are helping to change the way teaching and learning take place. The exhibit, sponsored by Dell, Smart Technologies, Sonic Foundry, and Extron, gave attendees a close-up, hands-on look at the latest higher education solutions.

Now in its third year, EduComm, produced by University Business and its sister publication District Administration, has shown steady growth as a must-attend education conference. Three-quarters of those responding to a post-session survey said they had not attended EduComm previously, while nearly the same number said they would definitely be attending EduComm '07, when the conference moves to Anaheim, Calif., next June. Sixty percent of the survey respondents valued networking with their peers during the EduComm conference. Bonnie Towe, technology support specialist from Bowling Green State University (Ohio), found this feature especially useful. "It was great to hear from others about how they do the things that you are doing," she said.

Here are some highlights from the three-day event:

Tech Wizard Wozniak

Keynote speaker Steve Wozniak talked to attendees about the early days of Silicon Valley startups, including his own, Apple, and the role technology has come to play in education. Woz, as he is affectionately known, co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Jobs in 1976. Knowing that the crowd was curious about his days as a digital upstart, Wozniak peppered his remarks with details about being an amateur computer engineer, first building the Cream Soda Computer with a friend (named for the beverage they drank while working), then meeting Steve Jobs.

"Someone told me about a guy who likes electronics and pranks," he said, remembering Jobs. "We met and started to size each other up. We liked talking technology, chips, and frequency counters."

By this stage in life, Wozniak was ready for new challenges. In 1972, at age 22, he drifted away from UC, Berkeley after totaling his car. "I had to pay for it," he told the audience. He took computer engineering jobs while working on side projects. He was careful to explain to a crowd of educators that he didn't "drop out." Ten years later--even though he was much wealthier and had been the subject of a Time magazine cover story--he finished his bachelor's degree. (He attended classes under the name Rocky "Raccoon" Clark.)

As a kid, he was a "book learner" who was "shy and nerdy." "Sometimes the computer is an ideal alternative environment for independent learners," he said.

His initial work with Jobs was considered more "hobby" computing than professional. Wozniak designed and built the Apple I computer--little more than a printed circuit board at that point--in 1976, and showed it off to "homebrew" computer enthusiasts. But the entrepreneurial Jobs eventually received a $50,000 order to build 50 computers. "We set up a table in Steve's garage. There was no phone there, he did business in his bedroom," Wozniak said.

Apple was on its way to becoming a bona fide computer company and one of the early champions of the "personal computer"--a low-cost item that any person could use. As the duo become famous, Wozniak came to be known as the "other Steve."